Oil slightly lower amid economic questions; ends at $91.89

Benchmark crude fell 59 cents to finish at $91.89 per barrel while on the ICE Futures exchange in London, Brent crude dropped 62 cents to finish the day at $111.57 per barrel.

By SANDY SHORE
The Associated Press

10/2/2012

The price of oil fell slightly Tuesday as investors weighed positive U.S. economic news against ongoing concerns about Europe.

Benchmark crude fell 59 cents to finish at $91.89 per barrel while on the ICE Futures exchange in London, Brent crude dropped 62 cents to finish the day at $111.57 per barrel.

CoreLogic, a private real estate data provider, says a measure of U.S. home prices jumped 4.6 percent in August compared with a year ago. That's the largest year-over-year increase in more than six years. The new data provides more evidence that the housing market continues to improve.

But investors remain concerned about Europe's ongoing financial crisis. Slower growth in China, which is a huge importer of oil, has also kept a lid on oil prices. Slower growth can cut demand for oil and other energy products.

At the pump, the U.S. average for gasoline was unchanged at $3.78 per gallon ($1 a liter), according to AAA, Wright Express and the Oil Price Information Service. That's about five cents less than a month ago but still nearly 36 cents more than a year ago.

In other Nymex energy futures trading:

— The price of natural gas was up 2 cents at $3.50 per 1,000 cubic feet. That's 83 percent above the low for the year of $1.91 reached in April.